Silly for Sausages

Meet Wilmington's professor of sausage. Plus, the joys of Slow Food, and folks who gather in the name of the grape.

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For years, Billy Rawstrom taught a culinary course on garde manger, the French practice of preparing and presenting cold food and charcuterie—pâtés, confit, terrines and sausage.

His next course could be called Global Studies through Sausage.

Rawstrom’s gourmet deli and salumeria, Maiale (2800 Lancaster Ave., Suite 3, Wilmington, 691-5269), opened in the fall. It sells everything from Italian salumi, Spanish chorizo and andouille to German bratwurst, Polish kielbasa and good ol’ American hot dogs.

“If I can find a recipe I like, I’ll grind it,” Rawstrom says.

The shop keeps 10 to 15 varieties of handmade artisan sausages every day, plus selections of dry-cured salumi like Genoa, sopressata, pepperoni and finocchiona, and cured Italian bacons such as pancetta and guanciale.

“I wanted to open a business that brings my abilities to the forefront,” says Rawstrom, a Johnson and Wales grad who’s taught cooking classes at DelTech. “And I didn’t want to open a regular sandwich shop and have to compete with Capriotti’s and Casapulla’s.”

Chefs and gourmands in Wilmington typically have to drive to Philly’s Italian Market for inventory like Rawstrom’s. Not anymore. Rawstrom hopes to sell his products wholesale to local restaurants before long. “There was definitely a need,” he says. —Matt Amis

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